Is Pokemon vintage already!?

With the launch of Pokemon Go for iPhone and Android in many countries, the Internet has been flooded with all sorts of news about the game, with people playing the game everywhere.

All that buzz made me think about the first Pokemon games – Red and Blue, released for the Gameboy in 1996. Yes, that is 20 years ago, which falls in the vintage category for many retro gamers out there. With more than 20 million copies sold in Japan, North America, and Europe, the game was an astonishing success and mark the start of an empire that extends its domains until today culminating with the release of Pokemon Go.

If you don’t agree that Pokemon is vintage, think that in 1996, the video game industry was also releasing titles for the SNES, the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation (1), MS-DOS and the Nintendo 64. Many of us are now collecting games for these platforms and calling ourselves retro gamers, so why Pokemon isn’t vintage? The fact that there are still new releases using the franchise doesn’t mean that the first instalments of the game aren’t already classic.

“Dear Old Pikachu” by Eponymus

If you want a definitive proof that Pokemon Red and Blue are already vintage, you should know that its music was composed using an Amiga! I rest my case!

If you agree or disagree, or agree to disagree, make your point in the comments below.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the game, you should try and play Pokemon Red or Blue (there are ROMs available all over the internet and also emulators). Having the little original cartridges and a Gameboy is even better. To see how things changed, you can also try the free Pokemon Go, available for free for iOS and Android. If you have an Android device and Pokemon Go is not available in your country, you can download the APK following the link below.